Tractor Trailer Pairing Confirmation System and Method

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/241,648 filed Sep. 8, 2021 and U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 17/940,752 filed Sep. 8, 2022 the entire content of which is incorporated in its entirety.

The present invention relates to a system and method for providing confirmation of correct pairing between a tractor and trailer.

The trucking industry relies on tractors to haul trailers loaded with cargo across great distances. In general, the number of trailers is much greater than the number of tractors. Commonly, trailers are docked at trailer yards while they wait for tractors to connect to them. Owners of trailer fleets coordinate with owners of tractor fleets to determine a schedule of which tractor will connect with which trailer and in what order/timeline to haul the trailer cargo to its intended destination.

Various issues arise within the execution of a trucking schedule between the tractors and trailers. For example, in some instances tractors fail to engage and pick up the intended/scheduled trailer and instead mistakenly connect to the wrong trailer. This can result in lost time and money from moving cargo to an unintended location and delays in moving the intended trailer cargo.

One reason why this issue persists is that there is no current solution for confirming that the physical pairing between a tractor and trailer matches the intended pairing in the trucking schedule.

Accordingly, an improved system and method for confirming the pairing between a tractor and trailer is needed.

In one implementation, a system for confirming pairing of a tractor and a trailer includes the trailer having: a controller, capable of short-range wireless communications; and an electronic control unit (ECU), configured to generate and transmit an anti-lock braking system (ABS) check signal including a unique trailer identifier to the tractor, such that a short-range wireless connection between the controller and the tractor is established using the unique trailer identifier transmitted with the ABS check signal.

In another implementation, a method of confirming pairing of a tractor and trailer includes connecting a trailer to a tractor via a physical data cable; communicating a unique trailer identifier between the trailer and the tractor via the physical data cable; establishing a short-range wireless connection between the trailer and the tractor; transmitting the unique trailer identifier from the trailer to the tractor via the short-range wireless connection; and determining whether the unique trailer identifier communicated to the tractor via the physical data cable matches the unique trailer identifier transmitted to the tractor via the short-range wireless connection.

In yet another implementation, a system for confirming pairing of a tractor and a trailer, includes the trailer having a controller, capable of short-range wireless communication and wired communication with the tractor, such that the controller is configured to: communicate a unique trailer identifier between the trailer and the tractor via a physical data cable; establish a short-range wireless connection between the trailer and the tractor; transmit the unique trailer identifier from the trailer to the tractor via the short-range wireless connection; and determine whether the unique trailer identifier communicated to the tractor via the physical data cable matches the unique trailer identifier transmitted to the tractor via the short-range wireless connection.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of what is disclosed here. Moreover, features of the various embodiments may be combined or altered without departing from the scope of the invention. As such, the following description is presented by way of illustration only and should not limit in any way the various alternatives and modifications that may be made to the illustrated embodiments and still be within the spirit and scope of the invention.

A portion of a tractor and trailer pairing confirmation systemand method are generally presented. The tractor and trailer pairing confirmation system (“system”)may generally comprise a tractorand a trailer. The tractorand trailermay each separately include a controller, such as a master control unit (“MCU”)located on the trailer, and an in-cab controllerlocated on the tractor.

The MCUmay be configured to transmit and receive data both wirelessly and via a wired cable connection. For example, the MCUmay be implemented as a telematics unit enabled to allow for remote communication over a wireless carrier system and a land network, as well as using short-range wireless communication techniques, such as WiFi or Bluetooth. The MCUcan send and receive data between a remote back-office entity, such as a tractor fleet management office, using the wireless carrier network/land network, and can also communicate wirelessly with a nearby trailerusing short-range wireless techniques.

The telematics communications may allow the MCUto communicate directly or indirectly (such as through a cloud storage system) with the remote back-office entity, such as the trailer fleet management office. In an embodiment, the in-cab controllermay have the same or similar functionality as the MCU, enabling the controllerto communicate remotely with the tractor fleet management office.

The wireless carrier system is preferably a cellular telephone system that includes a plurality of cell towers, one or more mobile switching centers (MSCs), as well as any other networking components required to connect the wireless carrier system with the land network. Each cell tower includes sending and receiving antennas and a base station, with the base stations from different cell towers being connected to the MSC either directly or via intermediary equipment such as a base station controller. The wireless carrier system can implement any suitable communications technology, including for example, analog technologies such as AMPS, or digital technologies such as CDMA (e.g., CDMA2000) and GSM/GPRS as well as 4G LTE and 5G standards set by the 3GPP wireless standard-setting organization. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various cell tower/base station/MSC arrangements are possible and could be used with wireless system. For instance, the base station and cell tower could be co-located at the same site or they could be remotely located from one another, each base station could be responsible for a single cell tower or a single base station could service various cell towers, and various base stations could be coupled to a single MSC, to name but a few of the possible arrangements.

The land network may be a conventional land-based telecommunications network that is connected to one or more landline telephones and connects the wireless carrier system to the trailer fleet management office. For example, land network may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN) such as that used to provide hardwired telephony, packet-switched data communications, and the Internet infrastructure. One or more segments of land network could be implemented through the use of a standard wired network, a fiber or other optical network, a cable network, power lines, other wireless networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), or networks providing broadband wireless access (BWA), or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the trailer fleet management office need not be connected via land network, but could include wireless telephony equipment so that it can communicate directly with a wireless network, such as the wireless carrier system.

The trailer fleet management office can be implemented using one or more computers accessible via a private or public network, such as the Internet. Each such computer can be used for one or more purposes, such as a web server accessible by the MCUvia the wireless carrier. Other such accessible computers can be, for example: a computer used by the tractoror trailerowner or other subscriber for such purposes as scheduling days and times at which a particular tractorwill be coupled to a particular trailer.

The MCUmay be configured to receive scheduling information from the fleet management office. The scheduling information may include an association between a tractorand the trailerwithin a time window to be paired. The tractorand trailermay each include a unique identifier that is used within the schedule information. In an embodiment, the in-cab controllermay also or independently receive the scheduling information.

The trailermay include a trailer ECUthat is in communication with or integral with the trailer antilock braking system (“ABS”). The trailer ECUmay be configured to send an ABS check signal to the tractorupon ignition of the tractor, or upon other conditions. The ABS check signal is commonly passed over the power line carrier (“PLC”) wire that is connected to the tractor via a hardwired connection, such as a J560 pinned connector, that is connected between the tractorand trailerupon their physical engagement. It will be appreciated, however, that in some embodiments, the ABS check signal and identifier may be passed from the trailerto the tractorusing any appropriate communication means, including but not limited to CAN bus, Ethernet, Bluetooth, WIFI, or any other appropriate communications protocol.

The ABS check signal may be received by a tractor ECUthat is in communication with the in-cab controller. The ABS check signal may include a unique identifier, such as an ABS identification or trailer identification, that is passed to the ECUupon ignition of the tractor. The trailer identifier can also be a numeric or alpha-numeric string of characters that are unique to each particular trailer. The in-cab controllermay receive the ABS check signal, via the tractor ECUor directly, and may decode the unique identifier. The in-cab controllermay then use the unique trailer identifier to find and wirelessly connect with the trailer MCU, as described in further detail below.

Specifically, the trailer MCUmay broadcast a short-range wireless signal or connection that requires the unique identifier in order to complete the wireless pairing with the MCU. Once the in-cab controllerhas the unique identifier, it may find the wireless signal from the MCUthat is broadcasting that identifier and pair with that wireless signal.

Once the in-cab controlleris wirelessly paired with the MCU, such as over a Bluetooth or WIFI signal, it may allow open communication between the in-cab controllerand the MCU. The in-cab controllermay provide the MCUwith tractor identification information and the MCUmay cross-reference the tractor identification with the schedule information to confirm connection with the appropriate tractor. The MCUand/or in-cab controllermay then send a signal, via wireless carrier network, back to the trailer fleet or tractor fleet to provide confirmation of a correct pairing between the tractorand trailer. The tractormay additionally provide visual or audible confirmation, such as a light or screen indicator, to the driver to confirm that the tractorhas been paired to the scheduled trailer.

The wireless communication between the in-cab controllerand MCUmay allow for the direct passing of gathered trailer data, such as sensed parameters on the trailer, to the in-cab controllerfor real time display within the tractor cab. The wireless communication between the in-cab controllerand MCUmay further allow commands to be send from the tractorto the trailerto alter trailer settings, such as temperature settings and the like.

An implementation of a methodof pairing a tractorand a trailerusing the tractor and trailer pairing confirmation systemis shown in. The methodbegins at stepby connecting a tractorto a trailerusing a physical data cable. In some implementations, the physical data cablewill solely function to communicate packetized data between the tractorand the trailer. However, in other implementations, the physical data cablecan also supply electrical power from the tractorto the traileror from the trailerto the tractor. The physical data cablecan, in some applications, be referred to as the “Power Line Carrier”, “PLC”, or “Blue Line” of the trailerand may be used to provide a digital or other signal from the trailerto the tractor, such as confirmation of an ABS system check. The MCU, the ECU, or the ECUcould be implemented by an SSC P485 PL integrated circuit (IC) manufactured by Qualcomm or by a nRF52832 IC manufactured by Nordic Semiconductor. These ICs can communicate over the physical data cable, the wireless carrier system, and/or the short-range wireless linkbetween the tractorand the trailer. Once the physical connection between the tractorand the traileris made, the trailermay send or permit the tractorto access the unique trailer identifier. The unique identifier can be stored in and transmitted from the trailer ECUover the physical data cableto the tractor ECU. The methodthen proceeds to step.

At step, the tractorcan send an acknowledgement to the trailerindicating that the unique trailer identifier has been received by the tractor. The tractor ECUcan communicate the acknowledgement to the trailer ECUover the physical data cable. In response to receiving the acknowledgement, the trailer ECUcan send a connection verification message to the MCU. In one implementation, the connection verification message can be implemented using a short-range wireless connectionbetween the tractor ECUand the trailer ECU, such as Bluetooth LE. The methodproceeds to step.

At step, the MCUcan establish a short-range wireless connectionbetween the MCUand the tractor ECU. The MCUcan broadcast or otherwise transmit the unique identifier over the short-range wireless connection. The tractor ECUcan receive the unique identifier and compare the unique identifier receive via the short-range wireless connectionwith the unique identifier received from the trailerduring step. If the unique identifiers do not match, the methodends. Otherwise, the methodproceeds to step.

At step, the correct pairing between tractorand trailermay be confirmed with the trailer fleet management office. For example, the fleet management officecan wirelessly transmit a message over the wireless carrier system that includes scheduling information. The scheduling information may include a window of time for a tractorand trailerto be paired, and a unique identifier for the tractoras well as the unique identifier for the trailer. The message can be received by the tractor ECUand compared with a unique identifier for the trailerstored at the trailer. If the received unique identifier for the trailerdoes not match what is stored at the trailer, then the tractor ECUcan send a message to the trailer, either wirelessly or over the physical data cable, indicating that the coupling between the tractorand the traileris incorrect. Otherwise, if the received identifier does match the stored identifier and time window in the scheduling information, then a confirmation of the correct pairing may be communicated to the fleet management office. It will be appreciated that the scheduling information may be received by either the trailer ECUor tractor ECUand that the confirmation of the correct pairing and timing, consistent with the schedule, may be performed in either ECU,.

At step, the trailercan monitor for the physical data cableto be disconnected from the tractor. When the trailer ECUsenses that the physical data cable has been decoupled from the tractor, the ECUcan send a wireless message via the short-range wireless connectionindicating this event. The short-range wireless connection can then be ended. The methodends.

While the method and system shown inand described above include an MCUon the trailer that is enabled with both short-range wireless connectioncapabilities and a wireless carrier connection, it will be appreciated that the MCUmay be housed on the tractorinstead of the trailer. The operations and of the system may work substantially the same as shown and described, with the in-cab tractor ECUfunctioning as the trailer ECUand vice versa.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to just the embodiments disclosed, but that the invention described herein is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the claims hereafter. The claims as follows are intended to include all modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the claims or the equivalent thereof.